1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for treating disordered tissue with anti-infective compositions especially antiviral and antimicrobial compositions. More particularly, the treatment compositions include quaternary amine medicament compounds or organochlorides. The present invention provides a novel combination of treatment compositions and modes of applying them to treat tissue disorders, particularly epithelial tissue disorders such as herpes infections.
2. The Relevant Technology
Tissue disorders, particularly those which impact epithelial tissue such as Herpes Simplex types I and II, candida albicans, acne, psoriasis, eczema, seborrhea, dermatitis, and pink eye are common and are often difficult to treat symptoms. Such disorders are more likely to develop in people living with compromised sanitary conditions, the elderly, and the chronically ill. Others susceptible to such disorders include workers in health care, agricultural workers, chemical industry workers, individuals working with industrial cleaners, and painters, where chronic exposure to chemicals, pathogens, and unsanitary conditions tend to weaken and irritate epithelial tissue.
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) and Herpes Zoraster, commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cherpes virusxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cherpes,xe2x80x9d is an infectious disease which has reached crisis proportions nationally with estimated numbers of infected people at 70%-80% of U.S. population as reported by the American Social Health Association (ASHA) and growing annually by 500,000 people or more. There are two common types of herpes: herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV 1) and herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV 2).
Herpes enters the human body through minuscule breaks in the epidermal tissue usually by contact with an infected host and is marked by eruption of one or more vesicles, usually in groups, following an incubation period of approximately four to ten days. Typically the course of the infectious outbreak initiates with the prodromal stage; advancing to vesicular eruption; followed by: ulceration; coalescing, resolution, and the latency period. The outbreak can last for several weeks and on average lasts two to three weeks. In some immune compromised individuals, the outbreak can last for months. The vesicles can appear anywhere on epithelial tissues including the skin or mucosa, typically appearing on the lips as cold sores, glands, oral mucosa, conjunctiva and cornea, genitalia, anal mucosa and peri-anal tissue.
Herpes symptoms include: inguinal swelling, pain, fever, malaise, headaches, muscle aches, and swollen glands. Some individuals with oral herpes which impacts the trigeminal nerve, have excruciating facial pain, difficulty swallowing, eating and facial swelling. Individuals with the herpes which impacts the sacral nerve have severe upper leg pain, swelling, and great difficulty walking.
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is recurring, residing in the nerve ganglia, then recurring due to some, as yet unknown, stimulus. Recurrent herpetic infections can be precipitated by almost anything, including: overexposure to sunlight; nutritional deficiencies; stress; menstruation; immunosuppression, certain foods; drugs; febrile illness; etc.
Herpes infections pose very serious health threats often causing: blindness; increased cancer risk of the cervix; aseptic meningitis and encephalitis; neonatal deaths; viremia; the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); etc. The devastating effects of this disease, go well beyond the medical scope of human suffering; HSV is responsible for serious psychological and emotional distress as well as substantial economic loss.
Various treatments for herpes have been proposed and have included topical application of such agents as povidone-iodine, idoxuridine, trifluorothyidine, or acyclovir. Such treatments have met with varying degrees of success. Most prior treatments have proven disappointing. Acyclovir, an acyclic nucleoside, is taken orally for systemic treatment of HSV. Acyclovir is somewhat effective in inhibiting the activity of several herpes viruses. However, acyclovir is only successful in interrupting the replication of the virus and is used to treat infectious outbreak systemically. Nothing to date has proven really effective topically. Strains resistant to acyclovir have been reported. Individuals with Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) are seriously immune-compromised and suffer especially debilitating outbreaks of HSV. Additionally, AIDS individuals may carry acyclovir resistant strains of HSV, which can make acyclovir ineffective for these individuals. It is, therefore, of utmost importance to develop a safe and successful medical treatment to overcome the very serious problems of herpes virus.
Biologically active antiviral and microbial compositions have been met with marginal success when administered topically for tissue disorders. Such compositions have been applied as gels, creams, lotions, oils, ointments, pastes, tinctures, emulsions, and colloidal suspensions. Most of the compositions are oil-based to ensure that the composition has sufficient viscosity and/or tackiness to remain on the surface of the skin. In fact, such compositions are generally absorbed into clothing more than into the skin due to a relatively slow epidermal penetration rate. Even when applied to patients and time is available for the compositions to penetrate, they often were not sufficiently effective for one reason or another to substantially assist them in clearing up the disorder.
Many efforts have been undertaken to remedy the inadequate results of topically administered compositions having antiviral and antimicrobial qualities. The therapeutic effects of such compositions depend upon the specific active agent and the method of application. Many compositions of the prior art contain ingredients that may provide symptomatic relief of pain and itching, but none are claimed to be effective against Herpes infection except the drug, acyclovir, which is purported to have some topical efficacy. Additionally, most compositions intended to treat such disorders do not effectively treat the discomfort and the disease symptoms, let alone cure the disorder or put it into a significant remission.
Examples of conventional application methods and compositions are provided in WO 98/42188 and in WO 98/11778 by Squires, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference. In WO 98/42188 at page 9, lines 12-18 and in WO 98/11778 at page 5, lines 22-30, it is stated that the composition is applied by xe2x80x9cspraying, dabbing, dusting, swabbing, sponging, brushing, pouring, dispensing, covering or heavily coating.xe2x80x9d The stated objective of these techniques for applying the composition is to insure that the composition remains on the infected area. Like other conventional treatment compositions, the composition has a viscosity and/or tackiness which enables it to remain on the surface of the infected area. A portion of such compositions may eventually penetrate beyond the surface of the disordered tissue such as the outer surface of skin or a lip, however, the viscosity of the composition combined with the application technique prevents such compositions from achieving effective penetration.
Another example of conventional application methods and compositions is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,270 issued to Beauchamp et al., which is also incorporated by reference. U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,270 discloses a composition which includes: (a) an antiseptic and/or anesthetic compound which is (i) a terpene such as menthol or eucalyptol, (ii) a phenolic compound such as thymol, or (iii) an alcohol such as menthol; (b) a quaternary ammonium antiseptic compound such as benzethonium chloride; and (c) an antiseptic compound containing iodine, salts thereof and/or complexes thereof dissolved in an organic skin penetrating solvent such as a mixture of water and acetone. The methodology is described in the examples provided at columns 5-7 as involving the liberal application of the composition to the afflicted area in a sequence such as 3 to 4 applications over a one minute period which is then repeated every 3 minutes over a 10 minute period. The entire procedure is then repeated after approximately xc2xd to 1 hour for 2 to 3 hours or until activity is stopped in healing is evident. The use of a cotton swab is mentioned at column 6, lines 10-11 for applying the composition.
Although it is mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,270 at column 3, lines 44-49 that the formulations may be prepared as a gel, cream, a lotion, an ointment, or a paste the preferred embodiment appears to be a solution having an aqueous solvent system. It is noted at column 3, lines 6-9 that although use of water and acetone as a solvent is preferred such a solvent is not considered essential to the overall synergistic action of the formulation. In any event, the formulation appears not to rely on either its viscosity or tackiness to ensure that the formation is maintained on the surface of the afflicted area as do most conventional compositions. Rather the methodology involves the very frequent reapplication of the formulation to the afflicted area. Some of the formulation may be absorbed into the skin, however, a significant portion is likely rapidly evaporated due to the high content of water and acetone.
The active agents disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,270 which are discussed above include at least one compound which is an antiseptic and/or an anesthetic. The primary examples of such compounds: menthol, eucalyptol, and thymol are either obtained from natural sources such as naturally occurring oils or are derived from such oils. Eucalyptol is described as being an essential oil and a terpene ether. Thymol is derived from thyme oil or other oils. Menthol is obtained from peppermint oil or other oils. Other suitable compounds are also recited in the claims as including: eugenol, camphor, hexetidine or anethol. While the basis for inclusion of hexetidine in this grouping is not clear, the other chemicals are also obtained from natural sources or are derived therefrom. Eugenol is obtained by extraction of clove oil and then chemical modification. Camphor is a ketone which occurs naturally in the wood of the camphor tree. Anethol is derived from anise or fennel oils. While these compounds are useful, particularly as antifungal agents, it is doubtful that they assist in penetrating the afflicted tissue and may in fact retard or enhance the skin""s natural resistance to penetration.
In conclusion, significant medical research in this field of endeavor has been focused on developing compositions used for treating affected tissues and yet compositions which provide rapid relief to these ailments are still needed. It would therefore be an improvement in the art to provide a method of treating tissue disorders such as epithelial tissue disorders that overcome the problems of the prior art.
Such methods and systems of application are taught and claimed herein.
The present invention relates to methods and systems for treating disordered tissue. The system and methods involve the use of an applicator to apply a treatment composition comprising an anti-infective active agent in a carrier. The method may include vigorously agitating the disordered tissue treatment site with the applicator under conditions which are sufficient to enable the anti-infective active agent to rapidly penetrate the disordered tissue.
The present invention relates to the treatment of tissue disorders such as infections, particularly herpes related cold sores or other herpes disordered tissue, Throughout this disclosure, use of the term xe2x80x9cdisordered tissuexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cafflicted tissuexe2x80x9d, is understood to represent all tissue which has been affected by disorders such as, cold sores, all Herpes, candida albicans, acne, psoriasis, eczema, seborrhea, dermatitis, pink eye, shingles, and other predominantly viral disorders. Microbial and fungal infections are also types disordered tissues. Additionally, disordered tissue includes tissue which has been infected by venom as results from snake and spider bites, particularly venom infections from Brown Recluse spiders and Black Widow spiders.
It has been found that the therapeutic irritation of disordered tissue with a preferred treatment composition and the optional use of an applicator, stimulates rapid immunological attack and makes the composition and therapeutic irritation synergistically more effective. After the therapeutic irritation of the disordered tissue through vigorous rubbing and/or pressure, the treatment composition penetrates into the disordered tissue to enable the anti-infective active agent or agents to become chemically active much more deeply within the disordered tissue as compared to conventional application techniques.
In addition to the anti-infective active agent or agents, the composition also includes a carrier such as an alcohol. Oil and fatty carrier substances are preferably not added to the composition. Although various compositions have been applied to disordered tissue, the inventive methods and systems of vigorous irritation of the disordered tissue in connection with a preferred composition has extraordinary therapeutic effects. Consequently, the inventive compositions and methods of application with vigorous irritation of disordered tissue provide effective methods of treatment.
The inventive systems utilize an applicator to vigorously irritate disordered tissue to convey the inventive composition into the disordered tissue. The applicators allow the patient or a health professional to vigorously irritate the disordered tissue without cross-contamination from a dirty finger or the like. A finger may be used, of course, but it lacks the advantages of a sterile applicator, the absorbability of an applicator tip and the ability to irritate the skin surface in the desired manner. The applicator has the added advantage of directing focused pressure into the disordered tissue while the active compounds are expressed from the applicator into the disordered tissue. The combined effect of vigorous irritation of the disordered tissue and the administration of the inventive treatment compositions has the remarkable result of surprising therapeutic effects. Note that oils on the finger may react with the active agent and lessen its impact in the disordered tissue. For this same reason, moisturizing lotions should preferably not be applied to the treatment area after application of the treatment composition.
It is therefore an aspect of the present invention to provide a method for treating disordered tissue such as disordered portions of skin and mucous membranes. Another aspect of the present invention is a system for the treatment of epithelial tissue disorders that includes a preferred biologically anti-infective active composition and an applicator in connection with vigorous irritation of the disorder site.
These and other features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.
In order that the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and objects of the invention are obtained, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a preferred applicator that contains the treatment composition;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the preferred applicator depicted in FIG. 1 as it appears assembled prior to use;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the preferred applicator depicted in FIG. 2 after the glass reservoir is crushed and the treatment composition is allowed to permeate the agitation pad;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an individual applying the treatment composition according to the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a detail taken along the section line 5xe2x80x945 that depicts a close-up view of the inventive method;
FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-section of the epidermis and the papillae of the dermis;
FIG. 7 is an elevational cross section view of an applicator that has a finger loop for vigorous topical irritation of the treatment site;
FIG. 8 is an elevational side view of an alternative applicator used in the present invention;
FIG. 9 is an elevational side view of an alternative applicator that is fixed to a digit for vigorous topical irritation of the treatment site; and
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional plan view of an alternative applicator that is placed over a digit and that is contained in a pre-wetted state before use.